She's a man, baby! A man!
by TifenCardo
Summary: Eli wakes up like the rest of the Gladers: panicked and stripped of all memories, except for a name and the feeling something's not quite right. But, unlike the other Gladers, Eli is... A girl. As all the boys think she is one of them, she decides to keep her secret well-hidden. That is, until someone discovers it and offers to protect her.
1. Chapter 1

She woke up to the sound of metal scraping against metal. Her eyes met darkness, and darkness only. The floor beneath her began shaking so hard she fell on her knees and she felt like she might have broken both her kneecaps. She brought her hands against her chest and felt her pounding heart in her sweaty palms. A feeling of claustrophobia took over her and she knew right away she was trapped in a confined space.

Then, with a mighty jolt, she felt her box being pulled upwards. A light hum filled the box and bounced off the walls. The hairs on her arms stood on ends at that sound. An odd smell wafted through the air and she doubled over, now clutching her stomach.

" _Pull yourself together, Eli_."

Her name was Eli. That was all she could remember. Although her mind seemed to work perfectly, as she was trying to take in the place she was in and what was happening to her, she couldn't remember anything prior to being stuck in that box. Passing feelings took over her, like the warmth of the sun on her skin, two arms holding her securely, the smell of a burning candle. She even felt something she knew was nostalgia, but she couldn't imagine having been anywhere except in that tiny, dark prison of hers. Desperate to know what was happening and what was awaiting her at the end of this journey, she went and sat in a corner of the room, her arms hugging her legs tightly. Her chin resting on her knees, she began counting the seconds, her eyes shut and her jaw set.

She had stopped counting for what seemed like an eternity when the pulling stopped abruptly, throwing her against the hard floor. Nursing her skinned hands, she tilted her head upwards and waited. At first, nothing happened. Then…

"Someone bloody help me here, shuck-faces!"

There was a scraping sound, and tiny rays of light pierced through the darkness. Eli covered her eyes with one bleeding hand and squinted to see the sliding doors being forced open. A crouching silhouette stood out against the bright light.

"That one's tiny!"

"Bet that shank's klunking himself."

"Hullo there, Greenie."

Feeling weak in the knees, Eli collapsed on the floor in the furthest corner and shut her eyes, trying to block the voices that echoed in the box. They were boys' voices. She realized she didn't know some of the words that were being thrown at her and flinched, as if being slapped across the face. The floor shook slightly beneath her. A boy had jumped in the box and was holding a hand out in her direction. She didn't take it but looked up to see two deep drown orbs observing her from under a frown.

"Take it easy, shank. I know how ya feel, trust me. Name's Newt."

The boy spoke with a thick accent. Eli just blinked twice and gulped. A lump had formed in her throat and panic was rising in her chest. She took a few ragged breaths and got to her feet.

"Let's get ya outta here."

Someone threw a rope at them. Eli placed her right foot in the loop tied at the end and moaned when she wrapped her hands around the rough material. Hands reached down at her and pulled her up, grabbing her by the collar of her shirt and the belt of her pants. About a dozen faces swarmed into view, some of them smiling, others just blank. Finally, she was able to stand up and looked down at her hands. She was bleeding even more profusely now, small drops staining the stony floor. Someone poked her in the shoulder and she felt a hand clapping her on the small of her back. Her eyes darted over the small group of boys facing her. There had to be about forty of them, all looking at her.

"Well it's good to see you Greenie. Welcome to the Glade."


	2. Chapter 2

The boy who had spoken to her had light brown hair falling onto his eyes. He held a hand out but, spotting the blood on Eli's hands, let it drop back to his side.

"My name's Nick. What's yours? D'you remember it?"

He spoke in a soft voice, clearly aware of Eli's confusion. She opened her mouth but no sound came out. Nick raised his eyebrows and half-smiled. Eli cast a look around her. Beyond the cluster of boys, she could see a half grassy, half stony field surrounded by enormous walls, each with a wide opening in it.

"W-what's this?" she asked, pointing at the wall in front of her.

Her voice was deep and raspy, not that different from Nick's. She heard sniggers from the group and Nick himself chuckled.

"You'll know in due time, Greenie."

Eli threw a nasty look at the boys, who laughed even louder, and turned her back on them. Still holding her hands together, she took a few steps forward and let her gaze wander around what Nick had called the Glade. It was really a pleasant view, like a meadow but enclosed between four walls that, Eli was sure, reached the blue sky high above them. A small wooden cabin stood in a corner and seemed to lean against the gray stone of one of the walls. In the opposite corner spread what looked like gardens, complete with growing crops and fruit trees. From behind her, Eli could hear animal sounds, mostly pigs and cows, and the wind was carrying a strong, sweet smell of dirt, rot and something wooden.

Eli felt a hand on her shoulder and whipped around, ready to defend herself. But it was only a dark-skinned boy who was handing her a green cloth. He nodded towards her hands.

"Might want to clean that up." he said in a grumpy voice.

Eli took the rag and pressed it against her left hand, her lips trembling from the pain. The boy just stood there, his muscular arms folded across his chest.

"Can you tell us your name, now?"

"It's Eli!" she snapped.

Then, not wanting to spend another minute being stared at by all these boys, she stomped away and threw the rag over her shoulder. Footsteps echoed behind her but she did not turn around and continued towards the opening in the wall.

"Oi, what d'you think you're doing?"

It was this Newt boy. Eli recognized him from his accent. She picked up pace and had almost reached her goal when a hand grabbed her by the arm and roughly forced her back.

"Let. Go. Of. Me!" she shrieked, each of her words punctuated by a punch in the boy's chest.

"Can't, slinthead. It's either you bloody calm down or we throw you in the Slammer. Good that?"

They were almost nose to nose. Eli threw her head forward and felt a sharp pain explode in her forehead as she heard a satisfying crack. Newt raised a hand to his now bleeding nose and growled.

"The bloody hell, Greenbean?" he yelled thickly. "What was that for?"

Before Eli could respond, a pair of arms had grabbed her from behind and her feet left the ground.

"Put me down!"

"After what you've just done? Hell no!"

Eli just screamed and kicked and tried to bite any piece of skin she could reach as she was being dragged away from Newt and towards what looked like a jail. Why she knew what a jail might look like, she had no idea. But it sure was where they were taking her. She tried to plant her feet into the dirt but the boy pushed her hard, and she fell to the ground, hard on her hands. The dark-skinned boy then slammed to barred door shut and left without another word.


	3. Chapter 3

Eli had no idea how long she had been sitting in the shadow of her jail, her head between her knees. At some point, she heard a loud boom, followed by a grinding sound. Soon after that, dark fell upon the Glade and the air filled with the smell of food, making her stomach rumble with hunger. To cap it all, whenever she touched her forehead she could feel a painful lump the size of an egg under her fingers. She had no idea what her face looked like, all she knew was that she had very short hair and a small body frame. But she couldn't have looked girly, or the boys would have noticed she wasn't like them. She was wondering why she was the only girl here and how long she could hide it from the others when the door creaked open. Her head shot up and she saw Newt looking down at her. His nose was covered in rough bandages and two dark spots were already spreading under his eyes. Eli felt guilt wash over her, but as she was not ready to show it she just smirked.

"You look terrible."

"Still better than you, though."

It was probably true. Newt closed the door behind him and sat on the ground in front of Eli. He fumbled with his fingers before he spoke.

"Alright, Greenie…"

Eli held up a hand.

"Before you say anything, do you have something to eat? I'm starving here."

Newt shook his head. Eli was sure she saw the ghost of a smile floating on his face.

"You broke our number one rule, which is to never hurt another bloody Glader. That's why we're keeping you here, until we know what to do with you. Who knows what such a teeny-tiny shank like you could do next?"

"You're right." Eli said, suddenly full of confidence. "Who knows? I might break your fingers one by one until you finally consent to give me some food!"

Newt couldn't contain himself anymore; he burst out laughing. It was the sweetest sound Eli had heard so far. Then something stirred at the back of her mind. It was like coming home after being away for a long time and finding everything in the exact same place. She couldn't put her finger on what exactly had triggered that feeling, but it was all too familiar to be ignored. All of a sudden, Newt and the others didn't seem so menacing anymore. She was pondering on the meaning of all this when a harsh voice made the both of them jump.

"Newt! You were supposed to be back by now! Now get your shuck butt over here, and bring him with you!"

Newt got to his feet and dusted his clothes before opening the door and turning to Eli.

"Looks like you're finally gonna eat something, Greenie. Don't act jacked this time or you bloody might spend the night down here."

Eli stood and followed Newt out of her prison. Although it was night time, the Glade was illuminated by a huge bonfire rising high beside the Box. The shadows casted on the great walls melted perfectly with the dark sky above them, making her feel trapped once more. Nick was waiting for them by the bonfire, his arms crossed and a smug expression on his face.

"Took you long enough!" he barked when Newt stopped in front of him.

Eli let her eyes wander over a large wooden table laden with food and goblets of water. She didn't even pay attention to what Newt was telling Nick. She took a few steps towards the table, only to be stopped by the dark-skinned boy.

"Who said you could eat, shuck-face?"

His attempt to impress her by showing off more muscles than necessary didn't work, though, and Eli just smiled at him.

"Want me to bite your arm off for real this time?"

"Want me to throw you off the Cliff?" he asked, his deep voice raising in anger.

That shut Eli up. She just stood there, glaring at him. Nick appeared behind the boy's shoulder.

"Easy Alby, last thing we want is for him to lose his marbles again. Right, Greenie? You're a fierce one, aren't you?" Nick added, turning to Eli.

"If you say so." Eli said, shrugging.

To be honest, Eli didn't know who she was exactly. The only thing she knew was that a good meal was waiting for her on the table, so that's where she headed, closely followed by Nick and Alby.


	4. Chapter 4

Eli smacked her lips together and put down the goblet of water she was drinking from. She had found a seat on a large log by the bonfire and was listening to an asian boy telling her all about their first days in the Glade and how they had to build everything themselves.

"But wait." she said, interrupting the boy. "You said you were about forty coming up first? How can it be possible? I came up on my own and felt cramped in that Box."

"I said there _were_ about forty of us at first, not that we all came up at once! Use your brains, Greenie!"

Eli rolled her eyes and nodded for the boy to carry on.

"Alby came up first. He spent about two hours alone in the Glade. Klunked himself a few times, if you want my opinion…"

"Which we don't."

Alby dropped next to the asian boy and punched him in the shoulder.

"Go on, Minho, now tell him how I found you curled up in the Box, crying and asking for your mum."

Minho shrugged and turned back to Eli.

"Then the rest of us came in the Box, four groups."

Eli looked away and tried to imagine how it must have felt like, waking up in that Box, surrounded by boys just as confused as she felt when her eyes had flown open. And what about Alby? Being the first one in the Glade must have been scary enough to turn him leery. She peered around Minho to look at him.

"Hey Alby, why were you the first to come?"

"Why do you think?" Minho asked with a smirk. "Shank's too annoying, the Creators must have sent him first to get rid of him quicker."

Alby smacked him behind the head.

"Slim it."

Eli snorted. She looked around, taking in the energetic atmosphere and the warmth from the fire. There was still so much she didn't understand about this place and why they were here, but at that moment she felt too lazy to ask any more questions. She glided along the log to sit on the ground and pressed her head against the hard wood, her eyes now fixed upon the starry sky and her hands rubbing her belly. No matter where she was coming from, it surely couldn't have been better than this place full of laughter. Just as the thought passed through her mind, a star blinked down at her. Alby and Minho were still bickering somewhere to Eli's right and someone was humming a soft but catchy tune.

"It's a good life." Eli whispered, more to herself than to anyone else.

"Guess you could say that."

Newt sat beside her, careful not to spill the content of a jar he was holding against his chest.

"Want some?"

Eli eyed the amber liquid suspiciously.

"Are you trying to poison me?"

"Would be fair, after you broke my nose. Nah, I don't really know what it is, but it's strong. For some reason I'm the only one here willing to drink it. It's Gally's recipe."

Newt pointed to a boy Eli hadn't noticed before. He was laughing with two other blokes, his crooked teeth shining in the light of the fire. Eli grunted.

"Yeah, well I'll leave it to you."

Newt grinned and took a large gulp. His eyes were slightly dazed and blood had appeared on his bandages.

"Sorry about your nose. Didn't mean to hurt you that bad."

"What's done is done." Newt shrugged.

Still, Eli couldn't understand why Newt seemed to like her so much. She had yelled at him, broke his nose and made fun of him about it; yet here he was, drinking the pain away and chatting to her as if they were long lost friends.

Later that night, as Nick had showed her to her hammock outside the shack and she was curled up under a blanket, Eli thought that maybe, just maybe, they _actually were_ long lost friends. All of them.


	5. Chapter 5

Her eyes flew open and she let out a muffled scream, her heart pounding out of her chest. She bit the palm of the hand covering her mouth and jumped off her hammock, her hands curled up in fists raised in front of her face.

"Bloody hell Greenie, stop doing that!"

Newt took a few steps back, shaking his hand and blowing on it every other second. Tears of pain were streaming down his crimson cheeks. Eli clamped her hands over her mouth.

"I'm so sorry, I thought you were trying to kill me!" she squealed.

A few of the boys had jerked awake at the sound of Newt's yells and were now whispering in concern. Eli could tell Newt was cringing, but he didn't say anything and beckoned her to follow him. What now, was she going back to the Slammer? The sun hadn't risen yet and stars still twinkled in the greenish sky. Her neck stiff from sleeping spreadeagled on her stomach, Eli dragged her feet behind Newt, whom she could still hear curse under his breath. The whispers died away as they crossed the Glade and headed towards one of the walls, away from the Slammer.

"Where are you taking me?" Eli whined as she was trying to catch up with Newt.

He turned his head to glare at her from above his shoulder.

"Hurry, you'll miss the show."

Eli huffed loudly and ended up running to meet Newt at the foot of the wall. He gave her another annoyed look and pressed his nose against a small, dirty window in the stone.

"We just found out about it."

Eli couldn't tell if he was talking about the window or what laid beyond. She stood there, waiting for Newt to say something. He motioned to her and stood back as she approached her face to the damaged glass. She had to squint a little to make sure she was seeing right. More stone walls stood past the window, but this time they formed passageways going in every directions. It reminded Eli of…

"A Maze?" she asked, turning to Newt. "Is that what it is? Are we trapped in a Maze?"

Newt didn't respond. He simply pointed at the window.

"Watch closely."

Frowning, Eli turned back and studied carefully the walls. Just like the ones enclosing the Glade, these ones were covered in ivy and seemed really old. It was too dark for Eli to notice anything else. Two or three minutes passed and Eli began to wonder if Newt, who was now watching with her, was not pulling a prank on her. There was really nothing else to see. Then, as Eli was starting to shiver from the cold breeze and thought she could no longer stand there, something appeared in the far left corner of the passageway. The yellowish light was growing brighter as it approached the window. But there was something else to it, Eli noted to her great horror. Not really an animal, but not a machine either, it was a perfect mix between the two. It was rolling towards them, a dark, sluggish mass curled up on itself. Then it stopped and spikes, shears and saws flew around it. Eli couldn't hear the sound the creature was making, but she could imagine it perfectly. It looked like something from a nightmare. She took a few steps back as the creature was throwing itself against the window and realized she had stopped breathing. She took a few gulps of air before speaking.

"What's that thing out there?" she shrieked, unable to keep the note of panic out of her voice.

"We call them Grievers." Newt said, still looking at it through the window. "They appeared about a week after we got here. Not sure what they do, though."

"Not sure… Are you kidding me? The bloody thing is here to kill us all, that's what it does!"

Newt finally tore his eyes from the window to look at Eli.

"See, that's why you can't go out there on your own. It's not safe."

Eli closed her eyes and tried to calm her racing heart, but all she could see was the creature rolling towards her. For a few hours, life in the Glade had seemed so peaceful and attractive to her. That feeling was long gone now and had been replaced by a deep fear of watching someone else die in front of her. She had to do something to stop that from happening.


	6. Chapter 6

Eli couldn't eat anything. Newt had led her back to the Homestead, where breakfast was being served, and she had gone to seat by herself at a table outside with a plate of eggs and bacon. She didn't feel like talking about what she had just seen, or about anything else really. She just sat there, absent-mindedly playing with the food in her plate, her mind blank and a vacant look on her face. The fear she had felt a few minutes before had subsided, leaving her feeling numb. It was just dawning on her how terrible her situation was; trapped in the Glade, surrounded by a Maze full of Grievers, with only teenage boys to keep her company. Everything seemed ten times scarier in the dull morning light, even with the walls still closed. No one had officially told her about the openings and how they eventually closed every night, acting like doors protecting the Glade, but she had worked that out by herself. She caught herself wishing for them to stay closed that day, the day after and every following day after that. They could survive by themselves in the Glade, the farm and the tree grove were enough to keep them fed and occupied. Wondering why the Grievers did not attack them the day before, when the doors were opened, she didn't notice Nick, Minho and two other boys pass by her. It was only when they went their separate ways, each walking towards an opening in the four walls, that she returned to her senses.

"What the…"

She jumped to her feet and started sprinting after Minho, who was adjusting a backpack on his shoulders. Surely he couldn't be about to go in that hell of a Maze. She was only a few feet from him when a loud rumbling sound made her jump, and the doors slid open all around the Glade.

"Minho!" she yelled after the boy, but he took off running and disappeared after turning right in the first passageway.

She stopped right at the opening and, panting, she cupped her hands around her mouth.

"Minho, come back here!"

There was no response. She shuffled her feet, hesitating on running after him, but before she could reach a decision someone was beside her.

"He'll be back tonight, don't worry."

Eli turned to face Gally. The boy really had a harsh face and sad eyes, but his voice was surprisingly soft.

"What do you mean? What did he have to go in there for?"

Gally let out a soft laugh and, scratching the back of his head, he gestured towards the Maze outside.

"That's what he does. Him, and a few others. Come, I'll show you."

There was something in his voice, bitterness. He grabbed Eli by the arm, not putting a lot of pressure to his gesture, and dragged her along his slow pace.

"Alright, Greenie, it's time to give you a tour of this place. I, uh… I've never done this before, Newt was supposed to show you around. But he asked me to replace him. Hope you don't mind."

Eli shrugged in a do-I-have-a-choice sort of way that made Gally chuckle.

"So, you already know the Homestead. That's where we're gonna start, okay?"

They stopped in front of the shack.

"That's where we sleep, mostly. It's a bit cramped, but we're waiting for some supplies to extend it a bit. Right, there you have the Slammer. But you already know that one as well, don't you?"

This time it was Eli who chuckled.

"You seem to have reached an organization on point."

"We had to. Although I wouldn't mind a bit of anarchy from time to time."

"Right."

Gally walked her around the Glade, pointing to places and people along the way.

"There you have the Gardens. You know, fruits and whatnot. That's the Blood House. You don't really need to go inside, unless you're a Slicer or a Slopper."

"What are…"

"Later." Gally interrupted. "Map Room, can't go in there."

Eli realized the Glade was a perfect square, with the Box right in the middle and each corner having its purpose. They came to a halt in front of a forest. The trees nearest the edge all seemed dead.

"That's the Deadheads. Quiet little place it is, if you ever need some alone time."

They walked back to the Homestead in silence and sat outside in the sun.

"Now, about the jobs offerings."

Gally crossed his hands in mock seriousness and told Eli all about the different occupations in the Glade, from Slopper; which had to be the lowest ranked job and the dirtiest as well; to Track-hoe and Slicer.

"So what is Minho?" Eli asked, still thinking about the boy.

She couldn't help but glance at the Doors every now and then.

"A Runner. He runs the Maze and tries to find a way out."

"And why aren't you one of them?"

"Not fast enough, they said. Anyway, I'm a Builder and that's much better."

Again, Eli was sure she had heard bitterness in his voice.


	7. Chapter 7

Eli spent the rest of the morning wandering around the Glade on her own, stopping every now and then to watch the Gladers at work. Gally had left her to supervise the repairs of a fence around the cows pens. A Slicer had came out the Blood House to talk to her around lunchtime, so they sat together to eat their sandwiches. The boy's name was Franckie, he had been the Greenie before Eli.

"You're to start work tomorrow." he said, his mouth full of bread. "Starting with us at the Blood House. You'll see, it's not as bad as it sounds. You'll be with Winston, he's the Keeper. Like the boss, say."

He nodded towards a stocky boy whose face was covered with acne.

"Great!" Eli said, excited to finally do something useful.

She wasn't exactly shedding tears of joy at the idea of skinning animals, but it was a start. Franckie explained to her that they needed to find a job that suited her, or she would end up a Slopper.

"What's wrong with that?" a boy asked indignantly.

He sat beside Eli and held out a small hand.

"I'm Bart. I'm the only Slopper around here and, trust me, I could do with some help."

"I could give you a hand today?" Eli asked, glancing at Franckie. "I mean, I'm starting to get bored."

The Slicer nodded curtly.

"You'll need to ask Alby. He's in charge when Nick's off running."

Bart smiled at Eli, who grinned back. The boy seemed really nice. They finished their meal, Bart humming with his hands crossed behind his head.

"I've had this tune stuck in my head ever since I woke up in the Box." he confided Eli as they started looking around for Alby. "Can't stop humming, although I wish I knew the words to it. Anyway, I have to get going. Call if you need me."

Eli felt a pinch of sadness. Bart really seemed to enjoy music. She returned to the Homestead to see if Alby was in there somewhere, but the main room was empty. The floor creaked above her head.

"Hello?" she called, stopping at the bottom of the stairs. "Alby?"

She climbed carefully, scared the wood might not be sturdy enough to bear her weight. It indeed seemed pretty brittle, with each stair creaking menacingly. She was almost at the top when someone opened a door and footsteps echoed in the gloomy corridor.

"Hey, who's there?"

Eli recognized Newt's accent and sighed with relief.

"It's me. Have you seen Alby?"

Newt appeared at the top of the stairs. He looked upset when he pushed Eli back.

"You shouldn't be here. Come on, let's move. Alby's not here anyway, it's just me."

Eli climbed back down and turned to Newt.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, Greenie, I'm ok. Now move!"

He pushed her towards the door. Eli left without looking back, wondering why Newt had suddenly turned so petulant. She finally spotted Alby crouched down in front of the Box and walked towards him.

"Alby, I'm bored." she sighed, looking down at him. "Can I help Bart around?"

"Whatever." Alby growled, not looking up.

He was scribbling something down on a piece of paper. Eli rolled her eyes and left him at it. Why were they all so grumpy all the time? She met Bart by the Blood House, where he was piling up buckets of…

"Yep, it's klunk!" Bart said brightly when Eli tapped him on the shoulder. "Gotta deliver that to the Track-hoes, they use it as a fertilizer. So, ready to help?"

Eli nodded and grabbed two heavy buckets. It was a tedious job, coming and going between the Blood House and the Gardens, but they had a laugh when Bart tripped and fell in the klunk.

"It's good to have someone to talk to for once!" Bart said.

They were now having a scrubbing competition in the showers. Eli felt exhausted and sore all over, but she had to admit that Slopper was not that bad of a job after all. At least they got to take breaks, talk and play around. She threw her sponge at Bart, who caught it and threw it back.

"Don't get all loved up, alright?"

"No chance!" Bart laughed. "You look like a chewed piece of leather."

Eli sat on her heels and laughed. She had almost forgotten about Minho running in the Maze. Almost.


End file.
